Pro Life thoughts in a pro choice world through the eyes of a convert.
I took early retirement after working in the social work and Human Resources fields but remain active by being involved in pro life education, lobbying and speaking .
This weekend I helped with the TN state oratory contest as a room moderator. I always enjoy listening to the teens original speeches on the life issue. Another volunteer in attendance was Judy Charest. I have heard her testimony many times but each time I hear something else that stands out.
Judy's heartbreaking testimony is of being forced as a 16 year old in 1972 to under a late salt saline solution abortion by her step father is very moving . She describes that her life following the forced abortion spiraled out of control and was self destructive in many ways. After years of therapy she wanted to do something to honor the life of the son she lost on that fateful day. Read her amazing story here.
Never active in pro life matters previously she found TN Right to Life by surfing the Internet and emailed a question that ended up being answered by the president of TN RTL. This led to a meeting and subsequent discussions and the end resulted in a plan of action for her to become involved...in a public way that could honor the brief life of her son she named David and give him a voice.
She decided to lobby with TN RTL for a bill mandating every abortion facility post a sign in the waiting area advising that it was illegal in TN for anyone, regardless of age, to be forced to have an abortion against her will. This has always been the law but women and girls are not informed of this since informed consent is not a law in TN. Post abortive women have stated they have been forced to make an abortion decision by their boyfriends, parents or husbands. The abortion industry fought against this simple act of informing women of their rights showing how prevalent it is and potentially cuts into their profits.
It certainly was a bold step to share what had been a family secret before legislators and committee members but with each step Judy became bolder and stronger. The bill became law in 2010. Judy became vigilant in walking into abortion mills to see if the sign was properly displayed. One such facility under observation was the Women's Center in Nashville that is located just three doors down from a pregnancy resource center. So what good does one sign do??
Just last week a young girl was brought to the Women's Center to have an abortion against her will by her mother. She thought she had no rights as a minor but saw the sign informing her of her rights under the law. She got up and ran out of the center to speak the the people praying outside. She wanted help and they directed her to the pregnancy resource center up the street. There she was able to receive and see a free ultrasound of her baby boy. She was also able to find out about resources available to her in choosing life for her baby.
Judy had the honor of reporting that this one sign resulted in giving this baby boy a voice.....and through him her son's voice will be heard.
Yesterday the Center for Reproductive Rightsreleaseda report that gave a deeply depressing rundown of all the ways states have worked to restrict reproductive rights this year. Reading the whole report is worthwhile, but here are the highlights.
Wow! What in my state could cause such depression. Here it is...
Tennessee:Requires abortion providers to post large signs that say it is unlawful to coerce a woman into having an abortion.
Egads! Alerting women that coercing them into having an abortion is against the law!!! How could they??
Coercion is the favorite part of their service. Make that sale! So much for Choice!
Printed with permission from Judy Charest, Nashville, TN
I know there is a
law against coerced abortions....on the books anyway. This is my story of what
happened to me in April of 1972. I know
there are countless others, who like me,
have been forced into an abortion. My story is unfortunately not unique.
I was a 16 year old
girl from Nashville in a long term relationship with my boyfriend Steve, and living with my mother and step father. My
mother was very ill and my stepfather made all the family decisions. When I
found out I was pregnant, I knew my step father would force me to have an abortion. But Steve and I had a plan. We hid the pregnancy until I was
past the stage for abortions, or so we thought. We managed to hide it until I was 5 1/2
months along. Just as we thought, my
step father took me to a doctor for an abortion. He told my father I was too
far along so we thought our baby was
safe.
When I was 7 1/2 months, I was awakened at 4:00 AM and driven in the
dead of night to a hospital in Cookeville,
TN. I knew this had something to do with the baby but he was kicking, rolling and very much alive. There was nothing they
could do now! I was wrong.....a nurse
came in to listen for a heartbeat, and found a very strong heartbeat. What
music to a mother's ears to hear the heartbeat of her baby! But this
would be the first and last time I would hear his heartbeat. No one would answer my
questions about what was going on. I was becoming very agitated and scared.
Finally a doctor came in and explained in a harsh voice that he was going
to perform a salt saline abortion. I became uncontrollably upset, I said NO, I screamed NO, I tried to
make the deal that if they would just let my baby live I would give him up at
birth, I tried to get off of the bed, I did all a 16 year
old could until they sedated me
and started the procedure. My labor was 12 painful hours of knowing what was happening to my baby.
When I gave birth
to my son, I begged to hold him but I was denied even that. Before they took
his little burned body away, I caught a glimpse of his little leg and foot. That is all I saw of my son. He was dead.
Less than 24 hours
later I was taken back to Nashville to inform my boyfriend they had killed our
baby; that I couldn't save our son.
I was consumed with guilt and sorrow.
Being denied the opportunity to mourn, I
was told this was my fault and I must
never tell anyone about this; no one would understand or ever love me if they
knew what "I" had done.......I believed what they told me.
I left Nashville a
pregnant teenager, I returned a broken women, girlfriend, sister,
friend, daughter, but most of all a broken mother.
Steve and I named
our son David.
As time passed my
world grew darker..... the relationship didn't make it and I spiraled down into my
very own private hell. Years passed and
the birthdays and dreams of what David
could have been haunted me. The maternal instinct that longed to hold and protect him never left me.
In 2009, after much
prayer, I made the decision to find a way to heal. I wanted to
acknowledge that my son existed, even if
for a short time. God was in
control and I was headed for the journey of my life.
God's perfect timing....the
journey begins.
My research on the issue of abortion led me to TN Right to
Life. There I met so many remarkable people who were dedicated to the cause of
life and helping women and men just like me.
As I became more involved, I found out that their legislative liaison was working on a piece of legislation along
with two great sponsors called "Freedom from Coercion Bill" sponsored by Representative Susan Lynn
and Senator Jack Johnson. This
legislation would require signage in
facilities performing abortions that no one was allowed to coerce a women into
an abortion against her will regardless of her age and there is help for them.
Many are unaware that there is a law against coercion to protect a mother when
she said NO to abortion. This was all about what happened to me and my son! I was
so excited and wanted to be a part of this historic event. What better way to
heal then to educate the public and legislators about the need for this bill. I
was now bold enough to go public.
I
became concerned about finding David's father and informing him of my actions. I realized that this bill and my story might get attention in the media. I knew
reading about this in the papers might cause him pain. I had looked for him
over the years without success but amazingly found him just in time on
Facebook. We spoke for the first
time in over 30 years , I was able to tell him my plans with for the
upcoming bill and my planned involvement. I told him I wanted to give our son a
voice...a voice that had been denied him and save other babies from the
horrible death he had suffered against the wishes of his own parents. To my relief, he told me that he supported me 100% and would stand with me though the process!! We would stand
together for our son.
For the next 3 months we walked the
halls of the Legislative Plaza and told our story to anyone who would
listen . We sat through countless meetings in the House and Senate to follow
this bill. I went to many county chapter meetings of Right to Life to tell our
story and encourage their work. I spoke at their annual Rally for Life reliving
the story I hid for years...the time was right. The story must be told and the truth uncovered. Finally I felt I was
able to act on behalf of my son.
On March 31, 2010
both the House and the Senate passed the Freedom From Coercion Act in a
historic vote!
For the first time
in 37 years Steve and I felt that we had given a sort of rebirth to our son. David's
voice had been heard ! On April 19th, two days after the date of David's birth and
death, the TN Governor signed the bill
into law.
David's voice will now
be heard in every abortion facility, doctor's office and hospitals that perform
abortions. As women read the required signage that
"It is against
the law for anyone, regardless of the person’s relationship to you, to coerce
you to have an abortion. By law, we cannot perform an abortion on you unless we
have your freely given and voluntary consent. It is against the law to perform
an abortion on you against your will. You have the right to contact any local
or state law enforcement agency to receive protection from any actual or
threatened criminal offense to coerce an abortion.”
I read this earlier and for some reason did not post....as someone who used to work in child welfare protective services as well as foster care, do I believe it happened??.....sure do. Social workers tend to be very liberal in their thinking to begin with and it is true you become somewhat hardened to the type of work that they do and when a minor in their custody becomes pregnant you now have another case...another placement issue. Sad and sign of the times. There was a poll on this daily PA paper about who you believe and the poll is overwhelming that the readers believe the foster mother over DHS....taking this girl across state lines for a later term abortion...horrible. This is coerced abortion...remember that the state has custody so the wishes of the parent is immaterial here...she lost custody to the state who now is the parent.
Posted on Mon, May. 3, 2010
By REGINA MEDINA
Philadelphia Daily News medinar@phillynews.com 215-854-5985
A DEPARTMENT OF Human Services caseworker pressured a pregnant Mayfair teenager to undergo a late-term abortion by threatening to take away either her toddler or her unborn baby if she had the child, according to the teen's foster mother. The alleged strong-arm tactic happened one day after DHS learned of the pregnancy, when the girl was about 22 weeks pregnant,(picture fetus at 22 weeks) according to her foster mother and the girl's social worker, Marisol Rivera. The foster mother did not want to be identified in order to protect the girl's identity.
The Daily News also learned that: DHS got a Family Court judge's order allowing it to take the girl for an abortion, after the girl's birth mother refused to approve the procedure. * By the time DHS arranged for the abortion - in March - the girl was 24 weeks pregnant. She had to undergo the procedure in New Jersey because abortions in Pennsylvania are illegal at 24 weeks.
Although it is DHS policy that a DHS worker accompany any minor who has a court-ordered medical procedure, this did not happen on the girl's first attempt to have the abortion. That attempt failed when the clinic wouldn't accept her Medicaid card and wanted cash, according to the foster mother. A DHS worker did accompany the girl on a later, successful, attempt.
Rivera, the girl's social worker, said that she was fired by Concilio, which subcontracted with DHS to provide care, after she initially refused to accompany the teen for the abortion. "They hired me to work in child protection, not to kill children," Rivera told the Daily News. DHS officials said that they could not discuss the case because of medical-privacy laws. Attempts to talk to the teenager were unsuccessful. But a source familiar with the case insisted that the girl was not coerced and that her foster mother, whose first language is Spanish, did not understand the conversation between the girl and the DHS worker, Cynthia Brown. Brown declined to comment.
Abortions are a little-known aspect of DHS's oversight of children in its custody. Donald F. Schwarz, the city's deputy mayor for Health and Opportunity, who oversees DHS, said that the agency "is supposed to take a neutral position and not supposed to be involved in the decision making" regarding an abortion. Between September 2006 and March 31, Schwarz said, 335 minors under DHS care became pregnant. Of those, 119 resulted in abortions. Of those abortions, 54 were done by judge's order. Eight of the abortions were performed out of state, Schwarz said. Although federal and state law forbid the use of federal or state money for abortions, and DHS is a recipient of state and federal aid, that money is not used to pay for abortions, Schwarz said. He said that money only from the city budget is used to pay for the procedures.
"They have ridiculous civil penalties that they put on this that are
just absolutely for no other purpose but to intimidate people that are
trying to help people that are in the process of trying to have an
abortion. To the best of my knowledge, it is still the law of this land that you
can legally have an abortion." This was a quote from Senator Beverly Marrero (D) Memphis, one of the two senators who voted against the Freedom from Coercion bill in the TN legislature. Read the back story of this bill here.
She also questioned the Senator bringing the bill about his report that over 60% of the women having abortions reported experiencing coercion. She definitely was a skeptic that coercion was even taking place.
Perhaps she needs to read this advertisement for the Knoxville abortion facility and focus on the quote below.
"Some women feel pressured or coerced into choosing abortion, and when this
happens, post-abortion conflict can arise. Our staff will help you work through
these conflicts by providing you with honest information, practical skills,
compassion, and support. "
What coercion! I thought it was just helping people through the process of trying to have an abortion! Instead of offering post abortion counseling, how about not aborting....what a novel thought! When a woman says NO, her word should be final. There is no conflict to work through...she said NO.
The Atlanta Journal is well known to be a far left paper and very friendly to the abortion industry. Good for Georgia Right to Life for this piece of legislation.
Atlanta Journal
2:06 pm March 26, 2010, by Ernie Suggs
After more than three hours of debate, the Georgia Senate pounded out a grueling abortion bill that would make it a crime to coerce a woman to have an abortion.
Under SB 529, the bill’s sponsor, Chip Pearson (R-Dawsonville), said doctors, boyfriends, pimps and even parents can face criminal charges is they encourage a woman to have an abortion.
A mother telling a child not to come home with a child, could go to jail based on the bill, that still has to pass the House.
Pearson added that the bill also targets doctors and health care providers, who specifically target women of color, or people who abort based on the gender or race of the child.
“If there is one thing that we can do as legislators to protect the next generation it would be to make sure abortions are rare, un-coerced and not done to promote some type of agenda related to gender or race of the child,” Pearson said.
While it is clear that black women make up more than a majority of the state’s abortions, Pearson said that in 64 percent of abortions in Georgia, “some form of coercion is present.”
This happened in Seattle, WA...this is why it is important to have parental consent laws....imagine that during the school day, they put this teen in a cab and sent to an abortion mill and told her that if she kept it confidential from her own parents it would be free.....this girl could have gone home and bled to death and her parents would have no idea what happened to her...
KOMO-TV STAFF
The mother of a Ballard High School student is fuming after the health center on campus helped facilitate her daughter's abortion during school hours.
The mother, whom KOMO News has chosen to identify only as "Jill," says the clinic kept the information "confidential."
When she signed a consent form, Jill figured it meant her 15-year-old could go to the Ballard Teen Health Center located inside the high school for an earache, a sports physical, even birth control, but not for help terminating a pregnancy.
"She took a pregnancy test at school at the teen health center," she said. "Nowhere in this paperwork does it mention abortion or facilitating abortion."
Jill says her daughter, a pro-life advocate, was given a pass, put in a taxi and sent off to have an abortion during school hours, all without her family knowing.
"We had no idea this was being facilitated on campus," said Jill. "They just told her that if she concealed it from her family, that it would be free of charge and no financial responsibility."
The Seattle School District says it doesn't run the health clinics at high schools. Swedish Medical Center runs the clinic at Ballard High and protects the students' privacy.
Ed Boyle, a spokesman for Swedish, had no immediate comment Tuesday night.
T.J. Cosgrove of the King County Health Department, who administers the school-based programs for the health department, says it's always best if parents are involved in their children's health care, but don't always have a say. "At any age in the state of Washington, an individual can consent to a termination of pregnancy," he said.
But Jill says she not only didn't have a say in her daughter's abortion, but also didn't know about it.
"Makes me feel like my rights were completely stripped away."
From Les Femmes...
It's the untold scandal of the abortion movement. Millions of women are coerced,
threatened, injured, and murdered because they don't want abortion. Others are
deliberately misled and denied the facts they need to make an informed choice.
Read the
report to see the dirty underbelly of the abortion juggernaut.
Update: 11:52 AM 3-9-10
It finally passed on a voice vote out of the subcommittee and is on the way to the full commitee...stay tuned.
Today the HB 3301 will be heard AGAIN in the subcommittee trying to satisfy those raising silly questions to stall this bill.....no one wants to come out in favor of coerced abortions but they want to find all kind of reasons not to have this bill. I thought it was all about her choice....not so much .....when it is her choice not to abort obviously. The silent conspiracy.......
Is she serious?? Does she really not understand this bill or is she playing fast and loose in order to hide her outright opposition? The bill requires signage to be displayed advising that it is against the law for anyone to coerce a woman into having an abortion against her will. I thought they were all about, her body, her right, her choice. Sounds simple doesn't it. Well anything that might slow down the abortion industry is anathema. Strange bedfellows with the TN Medical Association and the TN Hospital Association who are clearly carrying water for the abortion industry and friends at Planned Parenthood. Shame on them! Informed consent, they know full well informed consent was thrown out in 2000 when Planned Parenthood and the ACLU sued the state of TN! Yes, a woman must sign a consent form to receive the procedure but the abortionist is under no obligation to give her "informed" consent. This bill is up again in subcommittee this week. Delays, delays, appears to be their tactic as they certainly don't want to be seen as voting against this.
A Pregnant Pause?
From Roane County Demorcrat article
3-8-10
A bill on the posting of signs in
hospitals that declare women cannot be coerced into having an abortion aroused
some concern in a House sub last week, reports
Josh Nelson. Rep. Susan Lynn’s bill would allow lawsuits for failing to post
the signs and for failure to follow special informed consent procedures
involving minors. A Tennessee Hospital Association spokeswoman said the bill could cause
difficulties: “We could be in an emergent situation with a comatose minor
but be forced to choose between ignoring the informed consent portion of the
bill and treating the minor to save the life,” she said.
Kleinheider must have been surprised by the number of comments that supported the bill so he went to a reliable pro choice blog to get another perspective. Author even admits it is a long rambling thinking and typing at the same time post but bottom line anything supported by pro life people cannot be trusted. For back story on this bill read posts here and here.
Another commenter says it looks like the original post was hijacked by the TN Right to Life crowd.Yes, we are legion. In reading the comments I wanted to highlight this one by a nurse that brings up good points.
Diana Kendrick, RN writes
March 4th, 2010 9:50
pm
I am amazed anyone could possibly object to protecting women & girls from
being coerced into having abortions. No one is suggesting all women & girls
are forced and/or pressured into having abortions, but the fact is there are
some that are. Do you really imagine a father who has incested & impregnated
his daughter is not capable of coercing her into terminating the evidence of his
evil actions? I have personally seen the boyfriend jerk his girlfriend back when
she starts to turn to speak to the pro-lifers offering help in front of the
abortuary.I have heard the testimony of the woman who was forced to abort years
ago by her step-father. Some women & girls need such protection & this
should be an issue pro-lifers as well as pro-choice people should rally behind
together.
Read the push card for HB 3301 Freedom from Coercion Act. here.
Post Politics asked if this really a problem...is this really necessary? I think the responses are pouring in and maybe educating him/them. The answer is YES.
What do you think? Read some of the post responses here.
TN Right to Life is supporting a bill that would mandate abortion providers to have a post a sign that it is against the law for anyone regardless of relationship to you to coerce you into having an abortion. This bill is starting to weave its way through the legislative process but is already meeting some resistance. A point brought up brings an interesting question. The Tennessee Medical Association brought up a concern that about posting in doctor's offices would be a" burden" to the doctor.
Ed Albin of Tennessee Right to Life says, "It would seem that another
concern is that such signage would alert pro-life patients that their physician or facility participates in the practice of abortion."
Here is my question: If you went to your doctor for your annual exam or a specific concern and saw a sign that discussed a law against coerced abortion, would this cause you to change doctors since this alerts you that your doctor performs abortions??
It reminded me of an experience I had with when I went to a new doctor in Nashville that was an OB GYB specialist. When I was ushered back to the exam room I saw a huge sign on her door that said KERRY/EDWARDS....THE REAL DEAL. I was stunned because the election has been over with for over four years at that time. This led me to question the nurse if this doctor was pro abortion or had ever done abortions. The nurse was evasive and I elected to leave without seeing the doctor. Am I extreme? Perhaps. But would this signage make you question your doctor and perhaps change practitioners??
Nashville, TN (LifeNews.com) -- Tennessee's Freedom from Coercion Act (HB 3301) by pro-life Rep. Susan Lynn (R-Mount Juliet) will be heard again next Wednesday, March 3, following limited debate last week by members of the House Public Health and Family Assistance sub-committee. Action was slowed when Rep. Henry Fincher (D-Cookeville) expressed concern that women at risk of undergoing coerced abortions may not benefit from proposed signage to be displayed in the offices of physicians performing abortions. Rep. Fincher repeatedly stressed that many women in Tennessee may not know the meaning of the word 'coerced.' Opposition to the pro-life bill was also voiced by the Tennessee Medical Association (TMA), in part because of the bill's "burden" on abortion providers to post required signage in waiting areas and procedure rooms where abortions are performed.
Ed Albin of Tennessee Right to Life says, "It would seem that another concern is that such signage would alert pro-life patients that their physician or facility participates in the practice of abortion."
An interesting bill is working its way through the TN legislature entitled The Freedom from Coercion Act. Basically this bill would require the posting in abortion facilities signage advising women/girls that theycannot be coerced into an abortion and that they have the force of law to protect them. There is support/help available . It also provides the threat of penalties to providers who fail to post or participate in such coercion. Is this needed? Will it help? Yes.
Almost everyone knows of someone who was unduly pressured by some significant other be it a parent, boyfriend and even husband to abort or else. Sometimes it is physical violence or loss of support or residence. Would it help to know that the law is on your side and there is help available? Absolutely! Is the abortion industry a silent accomplice. I can tell you yes. Sometimes they are not so silent. They are trained like telemarketers. Ask Carol Everett or Abby Johnson! They will tell you that they are trained to find your worst fear and emphasize it. Abortion is an industry and darn profitable one.
Now I am finding it interesting that some supporters of the abortion industry are worried about this bill interfering with the parent/child relationship, but vigorously support judicial bypass when minors want to get an abortion without their parents knowledge/consent.
